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måndag 30 november 2015

You don't like to watch movies and would rather read a book? In that case I can tell you that Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret can be found as a book!

It's called The Sustainability Secret: Rethinking Our Diet to Transform the World.

This is what the authors have to say about it:

"Filled with anecdotes, statistics, research, interviews with the filmmakers and contributors, and unabridged transcripts from the film, this companion book supplements and expands upon the documentary in every way. With all this and more, The Sustainability Secret reveals the absolutely devastating environmental impact large-scale factory farming has on our planet and offers a path to global sustainability for a growing population."

And this is what Amazon.com have to say:

"The groundbreaking 2014 documentary Cowspiracy presents shocking truths about the effects of industrial animal agriculture on the planet. The leading cause of deforestation, rainforest destruction, greenhouse gas production, water consumption and pollution, habitat loss, species extinction, ocean dead-zones, topsoil erosion, and a host of other environmental ills, animal agriculture is the biggest issue facing the planet today and one of the most controversial environmental secrets in the world of conservation."

This Wednesday you can watch the premiere of Racing Extinction on Discovery Channel.Racing Extinction comes from the director of Academy Award winner The Cove. First the movie producers named it 6, as in the sixth mass extinction, but quickly changed its name to the present.You can watch Racing Extinction all around the world at 9 pm on the 2nd of December. Find more information about the documentary here and the trailer below.

fredag 27 november 2015

Things are happening in the Swedish city I’m living in - Lund; Animal cruelty at a student nation, a manifestation against the fur industry and a traditional vegan Christmas dinner. In Gothenburg a vegan fair will be held next week. Also the court verdict in the case between Oatly and LRF Mjölk has come.

Cruelty to an eel

The chairperson of the local branch of Animal Rights Sweden (Djurens Rätt) filed a report to the police concerning animal cruelty at one of Lund’s student nations. At Malmö Nation an eel was exposed to cruelty during a dinner party. Find more info (in Swedish) here.

Manifestation against the fur industry

A more positive thing happening tomorrow, this Saturday, is a manifestation against the fur industry on Clemenstorget. Clemenstorget is a small square located close to the train station in Lund. Speakers from different political parties and from the Fur Free Alliance will among others attend. Find its Facebook event here.

Christmas dinner

And the third thing related to Lund is a Christmas dinner next week at Govindas vegetarian restaurant. Unfortunatley the tickets are probably all sold out by now.

Vegovison in Gothenburg

A bit to the north from Lund, in Gothenburg, a vegan fair is held between the 5th and 6th of December. It’s called Vegovision. Find more info here. This time famous persons like Gene Baur from Farm Sanctuary in USA, the swimmer Lars Frölander and Tobias Leenaert founder of the Belgian organization EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alternative) will lecture. You can also watch the documentary Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret there.

Oatly vs LRF Mjölk

On a national level the verdict between Oatly - the oat milk company - and the Swedish cow milk industry’s lobby organization - LRF Mjölk - was revealed. LRF Mjölk sued Oatly because of the slogans on Oatly’s packages. Slogans like “Wow no cow”, “No milk. No soy. No badness.” and “It’s like milk but made for humans” was too much for LRF Mjölk to handle, and that’s why the sued Oatly. Unfortunately Oatly lost in the court and will have to pay 1.3 million SEK.

Calves seperated from their mothers because of the cow milk industry.Photo: Djurrättsalliansen.

Calves seperated from their mothers.Photo: Djurrättsalliansen.

A positive thing, because of this case, is that the cow milk industry’s mistreatment and abuse of cows and calves are being exposed and more talked about than before. And I see that as something good.So long! Take care!

måndag 23 november 2015

In the previous post, Gods In Shackles, elephants was the topic. Today I'm continuing to write about elephants. This time it's a documentary directed and produced by Icelandic Jóhann Sigfússon, Anna Dís Ólafsdóttir and Hinrik Ólafsson. The documentary I'm thinking of is Elephant Whisperer!

Elephant Whisperer is about a woman named Sangduen Chailert, also known as Lek. She has dedicated her time to rescuing and rehabilitating elephants in Thailand. You can read more about Save Elephant Foundation, founded by Lek on this link.

This is what the movie makers say about the documentary:

"Sangduen Chailert, or Lek, as she is generally known, has already rescued over 200 elephants. She has dedicated her life to saving the Asian elephant and founded a special camp, The Elephant Nature Park to protect them. We follow this winner of Time Magazine’s “Asian Hero of the Year” Award in her work.

Lek is on a mission to save the Asian elephant in her native Thailand. This film looks at the plight of the Asian elephant, as it goes from being a widely used domestic animal, to becoming a burden on modernizing communities. With experts predicting its extinction within four decades, Lek’s work is needed now more than ever and she has gathered a large group of supporters and volunteers in her quest for a better future for the Asian elephant.This moving film demonstrates Lek’s natural understanding of and rapport with these huge animals and will stir the viewers emotions as it highlights the often desperate state some elephants are kept in."

Toronto seems to me to be an important city when it comes to the animal rights movement. From an outside perspective it seems to be bubbling with initiatives and ideas. One initiative is the film Gods In Shackles.Just to name a few of the things I've observed; The idea to the important march to close down all slaughterhouses originates from this Canadian city. And so does the animal rights documentary The Ghosts In Our Machine. Toronto is also the home of Gods In Shackles. This documentary focus on the exploitation and abuse of elephants in the Indian province Kerala, where festivals are held and elephants are being used as workforce and more.

Find a movie clip below in which the movie director Sangita Iyer speaks about Gods In Shackles. The website godsinshackles.com provide lots of information for the interested! This documentary is still in production and I don't know when it's finished. A campaign for the film was successfully funded on Indiegogo.com in February of 2015.

söndag 22 november 2015

I've found a documentary called Fragile Waters while surfing the Internet. Fragile Waters focus on the salmon and orca (killer whale) population in the Salish Sea* and the health of these populations.Fragile Waters is 51 minutes long and was finished in 2014. I wouldn't call it an animal rights documentary, but more of an environmental documentary. Find its website here and the trailer below!*The Salish Sea is a network of coastal waterways in the southwest of Canada and northwest of the USA.

Fragile Waters - Documentary Film Official Trailer (NEW)

If Fragile Waters seems interesting to you I've posted two teasers from it below.

tisdag 10 november 2015

Life According To Ohad is an Israeli documentary from 2014 directed and written by Eri Daniel Erlich. It portrays 32 year old Ohad, his life as an animal rights activist, and his family relations.How would you explain to your family what you feel and think about them eating animals? This is something Ohad is faced with. Watch the second clip below from Life According To Ohad to view an emotional scene in which Ohad speaks to his parents about not eating animals. What do you think about Ohad's and his father's talk? Do you find the talk constructive?

Life According to Ohad - 30 sec promo

"Go to your cows, let them be your mom and dad!" scene from the film "Life According to Ohad"

Unfortunately many family dogs are being shot to death by police officers on duty in the USA and that is what the documentary Of Dogs And Men is about.

Find more info on the topic in this article and the trailer below.This is what the filmmakers say about the documentary:

"Of Dogs And Men explores a disturbing trend in American law enforcement: the shooting of pet dogs. From SWAT raids to simple calls and even visits to wrong addresses, we are seeing more and more incidents of officers using lethal force against a family pet they deem a threat. Are these rash reactions by officers in a system with little regard for our four-legged family members, or are they true peace officers doing their best in a dangerous job? Of Dogs And Men investigates the issue from all angles, interviewing law enforcement officers and experts, and taking a journey with pet owners through the tragedy of loss and pursuit of change in a legal system in which the very officers they challenge are an integral part."

måndag 2 november 2015

Inspired by yesterday’s post, including TEDx talks about veganism and a plant-based lifestyle, I wanted to make a similar post but with a focus on the animals. So today I gathered nine TED talks and TEDx talks that are focusing on animals, like animal rights, animal welfare, and more. Enjoy!

The first five talks are more or less from an animal rights perspective. First we have Anne Flaherty, who tells her story starting out with an interest in mammals, watching the documentary Blackfish and becoming involved in animal rights. Simone Reyes also tells her story of becoming an animal rights activist.Rubaiya Ahmad talks about the situation for stray dogs in Bangladesh while Bede Carmody tell us how chickens and other birds are being treated in animal agriculture. Lesli Bisgould makes a great plead for us to re-evaluate our relationship with animals.

Why animal-rights is not a luxury: Rubaiya Ahmad at TEDxDhaka

A bird they called dinner | Bede Carmody | TEDxCanberra

It's time to re-evaluate our relationship with animals: Lesli Bisgould at TEDxUofT

Wayne Pacelle, representing The Humane Society of the United States, talks about animal welfare and the lack of welfare in factory farming and also how to improve the situation for the animals. Jill Robinson is working for animals in Asia saving bears from bear bile farms. Listen to her engaging story!

Animal factories and the abuse of power: Wayne Pacelle at TEDxManhattan

TEDxPearlRiver - Jill Robinson - Welfare of Animals

This post is coming to its end with Frans de Waal talking about moral behavior in animals and Philip Wollen talking about his points of view on ethics in a meat-free world. Some of the research Frans de Waal is presenting comes from studies on animals and sometimes it doesn’t seem to be that animal friendly. Philip Wollen makes an encore of his speech from the famous Animals should be off the menu-debate with Peter Singer, among others.

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Om/About

In English: Rörelse för djurrätt is a blog supporting the idea of animal rights. It started out in Swedish but now I'm also blogging in English.Feel free to comment and drop by again. Find more information under Om/About in the menu./Christoffer Edström